On February 22, according to a CCTV news release, the Chinese representative made a statement in the oral proceedings of the advisory opinion on the Occupied Palestinian Territory case held by the United Nations International Court of Justice on the issue of Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories on the fourth day.
Ma Xinmin, director of China's Department of Treaty and Law, said: First, 57 years have passed since Israel began to occupy the Palestinian territories, and no matter how long the occupation lasts, the illegal nature of the occupation remains unchanged, and the sovereignty of the occupied territories remains unchanged. Secondly, on the premise that the Israeli occupation is illegal, the Palestinian people have the right to defend themselves against Israel's colonialism and illegal occupation.
Thirdly, justice is long overdue, but it must not be rejected, and the solution to the Palestinian question requires the joint efforts of both Palestinians and Israelis.
When a large-scale conflict broke out between Israel and Hamas on October 7 last year, China's attitude was to call for a ceasefire to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. China may have taken into account the feelings of Israel and the West, and has not fiercely criticized Israel, and has always called for a ceasefire.
Now, judging from the statement of Secretary General Ma Xinmin, China's attitude has changed somewhat, mentioning the issue of the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories by Israel, pointing out that the Palestinians' resistance to aggression is legitimate and reasonable, and Western countries should not label them terrorism.
Why has China's attitude changed somewhat? Globally, there are many countries other than China that are changing their attitudes at the same time, mainly because Israel has gone too far in Gaza.
According to data released by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, since the outbreak of the conflict, there have been 290,000 civilians died, including women and children. Recently, Lula of Brazil bluntly stated that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is not a soldier-to-soldier war, but a war between heavily armed soldiers and women and children, and compared this matter to Hitler's ** against the Jews.
In the face of condemnation and pressure from many quarters, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continued to go his own way, not only threatening to continue the military operation in Gaza, but also sending a large army to attack Rafah. Rafah is located in southern Gaza, on the border with Egypt. Since the outbreak of the conflict, a large number of refugees have fled to the area, and it is reported that about half of Gaza's population, or more than a million, have taken refuge in Rafah. Rafah has a total area of only 64 square kilometres, and the number of civilians killed by Israeli guns and missiles could double in the event of a large-scale Israeli military operation.
In the early hours of February 23, according to the Palestinian News Agency, Israeli forces launched airstrikes on the central and eastern areas of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, causing several people**. In addition, the Israeli army launched an artillery bombardment on the coast of Rafah. Israel sharpens its swords, and Rafah faces the end of the world.
Israel's wanton behavior in Gaza is mainly due to the support of the United States, which has not only rejected the draft ceasefire in the Security Council on many occasions, but also provided Israel with a large number of munitions and used aircraft carriers to deter Middle Eastern countries. Under the protection of the United States, Israel has no worries and may become even more frenzied.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to understand that in the long run, Israel is likely to retaliate if the United States is no longer able to shelter Israel. To avoid a repeat of historical tragedies, Netanyahu needs to make a careful decision.
Wen Yu Tsai).